Category Archives: How-To

CREATING A [FASHION] COLLECTION PART III:

CROQUIS & SKETCHES

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen for Part III! I apologize for the delay, but unfortunately life is still kind of hectic for me! (That and I procrastinate sometimes T_T)

~Alizarin

In this post I will be explaining what are croquis, how (ish) to make them, and what can you use them for.

CROQUIS: HOW THE HELL DO YOU EVEN PRONOUNCE THAT?

Origin of CROQUIS krō-ˈkē

French, from croquer to sketch, rough out, literally, to crunch

First Known Use: 1805

(Thank you Merriam-Webster dictionary for awesome stuff)

In the art world, it’s basically a loose drawing, just enough to get an idea onto paper that you can flesh out later. They’re also good for practicing basic art skills and loosening oneself up in prep for an art session of any kind. (I don’t honestly do them myself, as I use templates, but I should probably get into the habit of doodling and sketching again….I lose my art skills quite rapidly if I don’t use them for a length of time).

For instance, this drawing, pulled from deviantART user EsbenLash http://esbenlash.deviantart.com/gallery/ is a great example of an art croquis. (Honestly, they have some pretty damn awesome artwork besides. Go check them out ❤ ) You basically get the idea that this person is leaping, or dancing, or whatever. It’s not finished, but you get the jist and can work on it later.

In the fashion realm (and more often than not if you google “croquis”) croquis just means a body template. Typically used for anything from drawing clothing lines to flats (the technical term for digitized fashion designs like you see on the back of a sewing pattern). As a side note, flats can be useful to see a more technical approach to your designs once you’ve narrowed them down (but I’m getting ahead of myself here).

At the end of this How-To, in the Resources LIst, I added a ton of handy Fashion Illustration books that you may want to look into. I have many of them myself and it doesn’t hurt to have several different kinds to reference depending on how you learn/what style you like.

OKAY. NOW WHAT?

OKAY! AWESOME! We have a basic idea of what a croquis is. Now what do we do with them and how do we use them?

Easy!

First: we’re going to need a few supplies, depending on your drawing habits:

Paper (sketch pad, printer paper, scraps, whatever)

Templates (optional; will discuss later)

Tracing Paper (optional)

Pencils (Mechanical or regular drawing; I prefer a 2H when not using a mechanical)

Mood board you worked on earlier or other inspirational pieces you’ve gathered

A note on templates: This are easy to acquire or make yourself. There are several templates you can source from deviantART, Pinterest, Google, or other search engines.

For old fashioned paper method- it is good to have tracing paper handy once you print out some templates (or if you’ve drawn your own), that way you don’t have to worry so much about how your figure looks and get down to drawing the clothing right away.

For digital art: if you create your template (or trace/modify a template you find online), I suggest making the outlines a light blue and do several per sheet. This way, if you’d rather do the clothing drawing by hand, you’ll have a lighter line to draw atop of rather than getting confused with a solid black line.

Example of hand drawing croquis. They aren’t pretty, but they’re functional. Also, notice all my note scribbles next to each design.

Second: Find a comfy place, and draw!

Sometimes I find going to youtube and searching “inspirational video game/movie score music” gets me into the grove. Especially with my scale maille. Depending on the desired amount that you’d like for your collection, it is usually best to draw twice that. For instance, draw 12 or more pieces at least if you’re planning on a 6 piece collection (Honestly, I’d do at least 15~20. Nice good round numbers haha). The reasoning behind this is so you can get obvious ideas out of the way in order to get to the more creative, original designs floating about in your brain waiting to be drawn.

Also as a reminder, make sure you have that mood board/inspiration page handy! It is very easy to go off track. While it isn’t terrible that you go off track (sometimes you come up with some pretty awesome designs for future/other collections), it’s always nice to have it near you to refresh your mind what it is you’re trying to build your collection around.

Note: As things like possible fabrics/accessories/things not easily drawn pop into your mind on a particular outfit, make sure to note it somewhere near the garment, using arrows or contrasting colors when necessary. It’ll help in the long run, especially when you get to the fabrication portion. You wont have to go “OKay…now -what- was the fabric I was thinking of for this??”

Third: Take Breaks, and ask for feedback.

You may not think of it, but taking breaks is actually a decent idea. It refreshes the mind, and lets you not have to focus on the task at hand (It can get quite daunting. Believe me.) This way, you’ll be able to look at your collection with fresh set of eyes and maybe see combinations you didn’t initially think about.

Once you think you’ve exhausted every possible outcome, either take another break, or ask close friends and families what they think. You don’t have to listen to everything they say (as they may not understand the purpose of your collection to begin with), but the feedback is important. It’ll help narrow all the designs down to your chosen amount, whether it’s still the same as original thought, or more.

FINALIZING: IT’S TIME TO D-D-D-D-Decide! (You thought I was going to say “Duel” didn’t you)

Now that you have the feedback you need and all your drawings in front of you, it’s time to narrow the designs down. This is a moment you have to be realistic with yourself. You may end up wanting to do a 20 piece collection now that you have all these spiffy ideas, but do you really have the time to do it? This is especially true if it’s your first collection. You can always reuse ideas in another way for different collections, so never scrap them!

Again, it may be helpful to run by choices with friends and family. If you explain your theme and ideas, it’ll both help solidify the idea in your mind, as well as help you figure out the best way to write about your collection when it comes time to show them (whether it’s in a show, a fashion spread, etc).

When it is all said and done, you should have a pretty good idea of what the collection is going to look like right now. For me, personally, at this stage is where I like to start making a few flats for my collection. It helps me further visualize the collection and I can start messing with colors and other various ideas. Adobe Illustrator is a good vector-based program to use.

CREATING A [FASHION] COLLECTION PART II:

CREATING A MOOD BOARD. (NO THIS ISN’T SOMETHING THAT REACTS TO YOUR TEMPERATURE LIKE A MOOD RING)

January 12, 2015

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen for Part II. I hope you’ve enjoyed Part I and you’re ready for some more!

~Alizarin

In this post I will be discussing why mood boards are awesome and why you need to start using them. Like right now.

MOOD BOARDS:WHAT ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THEY AWESOME?

Well thank you for asking!

Mood Boards are a way for designers to put ideas coherently together. It’s all fine and good to have things in your head, but in order to get the big picture, it’s fun to put together things and take a step back. Mood boards are also used for direction of a collection.

They are super duper awesome because they’re fun to do. (Not so fun to do for a homework assignment, but now that I’m out of school, I want to make tons of them.) They’re also awesome because, as stated before, it’s a way to see the overall big picture of what’s floating around in your head. When you become big enough, or get hired at a company, it is a way for everyone to stay on the same page. Communication is key with those you’re working with.

WHAT SHOULD I INCLUDE IN THE MOOD BOARD?

I love using this whenever I can

Well…most of the things.

1.) Usually you’ll want your color scheme (or color schemes if doing several lines that would require such) first and foremost. Color sets up everything you do with your collection. Like….-everything-.

2.)There should also be inspirational images that set the mood and tone of your collection – meaning, they need to be relevant. If you have a collection based off of bright, bubbly things, a close up image of lips with what appears to be blood coming from the sides of them is probably not a good idea. I would go with something like cotton candy, or whatever you find (use color correction, if on the computer, to get the images to the color scheme you are using).

3.) Fabric samples, either digitally or physically depending on method of assembling the board (more on this later). This part may not come right away, but you should have something when you get down to solidifying the ideas. Better to have a bunch of pieces that may work and whittle down than trying to grasp for straws. (This is why it is good to have down your color scheme first because if your color scheme is light, you may want to go with lighter weight fabric compared to a darker scheme where you may pick something with more substance and weight.)

4.) Other inspirational bits and pieces. Be it hardwood or tile samples, beads, glitter, found objects off the street (please don’t steal), glass – whatever it is. (Again, if digitally, you can always take a picture of found objects and put it in the board that way)

5.) Another thing to get into the habit is if you have a logo/brand/company name/designer name, make sure you include it on every board you make. Make sure it is in the same spot. Doing this is called brand/top of the mind awareness. Better to get people knowing you and your brand now.

ASSEMBLING THE MOOD BOARD

I’m sure by this point (or you should be if you followed along with the first post), there should be a plethora of resources for you to pull from to put this thing together.

Unfortunately, there are a million ways to put one together, and I can’t tell you which one is the best (I know, you’ve heard that line a million times. I have while researching myself!). It really is true, though. Everyone has a different way their brain works, and they require different stimuli.

I can, however, give you examples of various styles that can be used.

Digital Boards

Having come about due to the digital age, Digital Boards are easy and efficient. You can go as simple as having a pin board on Pinterest to making something fancy in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.

Pros: Fast, efficient. Usually easy to use and share with coworkers or friends

Example of one of the ones I’m working on for my FW 2015/16 looks. I included my color scheme, mood images, and some potential fabrications. Also included my logo, as I always do, in the lower right corner

Physical Boards

For those looking for more of a tactile board, physical boards are best. While not as fast as a digital board, in some ways the tactile attributes are more rewarding.

Pros: Tactile advantage – a lot easier to see and feel how everything will work than a digital image on a computer. Get a chance to use all those fun craft supplies you haven’t touched in forever.

Cons: Use of a lot of resources (printed, fabric, other various materials). Space issues.

Sources for Materials (could be for both physical and digital):

Craft stores

Fabric

Jewelry

Paper

Yarn (creative way for displaying color scheme)

etc.

Magazines (physical or digital copies)

Newspapers

Pictures from internet (printed or otherwise)

Hardware stores

Paint chips (works really great for displaying color schemes)

Bits and pieces for whatever may help with inspiration (so like hardwood for texture to incorporate into a fabric print, etc).

Physical/Digitized trend reports if you subscribe to a provider (free or otherwise)

Books

Several of the ones mentioned at the end of this post have good resources of images and histories you can pull details from

Depending on the theme you have, you could also use other various textbooks, such as math, science, etc.

Found objects (please don’t steal!)

TIP: Anything, really, could be used as a resource. Don’t limit yourself to obvious things!

In Fall of 2013 on our New York trip, we had the opportunity to visit Donna Ricco’s studio. This is an example of a physical mood board.

CREATING A [FASHION] COLLECTION PART I:

PICKING A CATEGORY, SEASON, AND RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!

January 7, 2015 ~Alizarin Crimson

Welcome wonderful ladies and gentlemen! You are here for various reason, but one thing is clear: you have some interest in fashion, or at least interested in creating a collection of something. Since I know more about fashion than some other subjects someone would make a collection for, many of my examples will reflect as such.

I can’t tell you how many parts this series will have right now, but I will try to go in depth as much as possible, with revisions as I go along.

Each blog post in this How-To series will flow with steps associated with the part’s topic followed by my personal example for each step. At the end of each post, there will be links to all the other parts (older posts will be edited to include the links to the subsequent parts), as well as a list of resources for further reading/researching (these links may have already been included in the how-to, but it will be categorized in a more easily looked format ❤ ).

~Alizarin

I will tell you straight out, making a collection, if you’re truly serious about it, takes a lot of work, research, and thought. It may come easier to some people, but that doesn’t mean they do less work – if anything, they’ve done more.

*~In this blog post, I will cover the beginning formative aspects of your collection. Please also note, my way going about a collection is not the only way, but perhaps it will work for you~ Feel free to message me at any time if you would like help (or you just aren’t following the way I’m explaining something).~*

NOTE: Depending on your workflow, or where you are in the process, you may not do these steps in the same order. (I jump around all the time myself.) If you don’t have anything to start with, follow the steps, and revise as you go along!

NOTE 2: I apologize now if something doesn’t make much sense. If you have trouble following along, or need more visual references, please contact me and I’ll try to explain it better!

Now on to the damn tutorial!

STEP 1: DECIDE ON WHAT TYPE OF COLLECTION YOU WANT

This part is pretty important, in my opinion. Chances are, you already have your answer, but it’s have you written it down yet? No? You should go do that. Like right now.

The reason why this is important is that an accessories collection is going to look vastly different in approach compared to a menswear collection. You don’t have to set this choice in stone, as you may change once you do more research – good word of advice: be adaptable.

Some ideas for collection types:

Fashion:

Daywear

Evening Wear

Menswear

Outerwear

Athletic Apparel

Women’s

Childrens

Evening wear

etc.

Accessories:

Shoes

Bags

Jewelry

Hats

Eyewear

Hosiery

Belts

Gloves

Glasses

etc.

Of course this list isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a good place to get you to start thinking. For more general areas such as menswear and women’s wear, make sure you also choose specifically what it is you want to work on – such as casual, dresses, evening wear, etc.

*~Personal Experience: TYPE~*

For the length of this how-to series, I will also be building my own collection, therefore providing you with examples for each step. (To be honest, I just need a swift kick in the butt to finally get in gear and do my collection for this year, so this is to help me get that motivation)

I’ve been thinking about making a collection for about a year now, slowly narrowing it down to a specific category. Most of my research has only been done within the last two months, though (usually to kill time during break in my classes at NWTC haha). So far I’ve gotten to the point of it being a Women’s Wear collection, with either more of a gothic appeal or a steampunk appeal. I think I will decide on that more when it comes down to pinpointing exact colors and fabrics (I have several schemes to work off it, it’s just a matter of picking one!) I will also narrow down to if it’ll be more casual or dressy after I do more fabric searching.

STEP 2: TARGET MARKET & PRICE POINT

TARGET MARKET: noun: target market; plural noun: target markets

a particular group of consumers at which a product or service is aimed

[definition provided by Google]

A step nobody likes to do (definitely me included), but when in the planning stages, it helps reduce failure in your product line.

You’ll need to figure out the:

Who? – who is this audience?

What? – what are their needs/wants?

Where? – where are they located?

When? – when will you be engaging this market?

Why? – why will they choose you over brand/artist A or brand/artist B?

How? – how will you get your idea out there?

If it helps, some people like to give this figurative person a name and life story (I’ve seen some people even illustrate said person…Weirdos. Haha)

*~Personal Experience: TARGET MARKET/PRICE POINT~*

Luckily enough for me, I was able to use my Marketing Your Small Business class as a starting point for this.

Target Market:

WHO: Female, generally 18~40 (but not limited to those ages)

WHAT: Would like to have comfy, yet classy alternative clothing to integrate into current wardrobe

WHERE: Ideally, United States, probably in urban areas and more of a disposable income

WHEN: ASAP! I usually try to make things known on my facebook, twitter (when I remember), and now this blog! The sooner you can gain interest and let people know, the better.

WHY: For those local: it is something not normally found in the Green Bay area. For those online: BECAUSE I’M AWESOME Just kidding. I provide excellent customer service and plan on making sure for custom orders that I am as transparent as possible with their order (for instance: giving either text or photo updates if it’s longer than a week).

HOW: I will be utilizing social media platforms, and possibly paper formats (pamphlets if I do end up being part of a runway show).

Price Point:

My speculation at this point is somewhere between $100~$300+ depending on the intricacy of the outfit/how many pieces there are to the outfit if sold as one unit (For instance: Dress + tulle dress + bolero jacket may equal over $300 but individual items may not)

STEP 3: CHOOSE A SEASON

Generally, for any collection that you want to create, there will be a season in which you attribute and find your source of inspiration. In Fashion, there are two main ones, and a smaller in-between one. These include Spring/Summer (S/S), Fall(Autumn)/Winter (F/W), and Resort. Resort is typically for December~January ish, primarily aimed at people who travel or vacation in the winter months.

Why is this important?

Unless you’re doing something incredibly niche, each season usually has a distinguishing color scheme. And if you keep a record, after a couple of years you’ll notice yourself how the colors evolve. For example: for Spring, typical colors have included a variant of a mint green and coral for the last three years.

But what year do I choose?

This can be tricky. Are you working with a company, or are you an independent designer? Some companies plan as early as 2 years in advanced (like Kohls or Harley-Davidson Motor Clothes)! There are other companies that do fast fashion and plan as late as 6 weeks ahead (like Zara). If you have a small collection, and enough time, at least one season ahead is good to plan for.

*~Personal Experience: SEASON/YEAR~*

F/W 2015 Why? Because! I’m not so great with bright colors usually associated with Spring/Summer, so starting with Fall/Winter is a better chance to get into my groove. Also, I found some pretty nifty inspiration that falls better with F/W instead of S/S.

STEP 4: RESEARCH! YAAAYYY!

This is where everything gets fun, and you can spend hours upon hours doing. At this stage, if you’ve skipped the other steps, you should at least have some general idea of what you want to do, whether it is an accessories line, or a fashion line (and hopefully you’ve chosen something a little more specific than that!)

From here we can go anywhere. Or, just stay cozied up in pajamas and surf the web. That’s cool too.

But seriously, one thing to do now – if you haven’t been already – is something called Trend Analysis. The fashion world, in many ways, is ruled by trends. There are many services and resources that can be used in order to find and research these trends.

Free services:

Pinterest (make sure you are using good keywords! Maybe set an alarm for yourself too so you don’t forget to eat, sleep, and get some water…you know….human things and the like)

Trend Forecast – Cotton Inc (I haven’t been able to get this to work yet to give you more details, but at school we had a teacher that worked in a design department that had access to this resource. They have some fun trend forecasting!)

Paid services can be very expensive, but definitely worth it if you can afford it, as they will go more in depth, sometimes even providing physical samples of color palettes, fabrics, etc.

*~Personal Experience: RESEARCH~*

This is a neverending battle -cry-

So far I’ve used mostly Pinterest to gather visuals and continuing my trend research. I use some of the links attached to the photos to bring me around the internet. Usually it’s amusing things like you start looking at fancy makeup, and then the next thing you know you’re researching about the Theory of Relativity at 3am.

Right now I have a *secret* (shhhhh) board on Pinterest where I’ve kept all my visual ideas. Other ideas that aren’t specific to my F/W 15 collection (but may prove useful for future ideas) I just put into a public inspirational board.

TIP: Make sure you read through the descriptions associated with the picture either on or off the picture when you’re starting with discovering a trend to follow. It would be terrible to do all this research and then find out you were basing it off of 2008’s trends and not the one you intended. Of course, for sourcing inspiration once you have your trend, it doesn’t matter when the item was made.